Summary:
Napoleon Hill has been accredited with defining a simple formula
that has been used by millions to become more successful. Hill
and the results of his many years of research on some of the richest
men in America of the early 1900's is a demonstration of leadership
and how a legacy can be created that continues to contribute to the
lives of so many decade after decade into another century.
Napoleon Hill could easily be coined one of the greatest American
authors of all time because of the way his book, Think and Grow
Rich impacted the lives of all who picked up the book to read
and follow the advice from within the pages of Hill's great formula
for success.
Napoleon Hill was born in the rural, but beautiful area of Wise
County, Virginia. When he was ten years old, Napoleon Hill's mother
died and he was raised by his father and stepmother. While many
people attribute lifelong achievements to their parents and
grandparents, Hill's successes would be due in part to the fact that
Andrew Carnegie took a keen interest in Napoleon Hill as a writer.
Andrew Carnegie suggested and requested that Napoleon Hill interview
wealthy and more importantly, very successful men and women and
learn their secrets to success. Carnegie, though supportive of
Hill's work, never offered to pay him for his documentation
realizing perhaps, the author would undoubtedly be able to stand on
his own two feet because of his splendid writing talent.
For
the sole purpose to find out the secrets behind the men and women
who were certainly successful and to begin documenting what he
learned in order to develop a book which would later become Think
and Grow Rich, Hill began his interviews and research. He spoke
with some of the most famous and influential people of all time
including Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman,
Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson
and many others. His research was a twenty year undertaking and
produced a guide to success which was initially titled The Law of
Success.
Aside from being a well respected writer, Napoleon Hill was an
editor and publisher as well as an advisor. He often gave his
insights on many subjects to Carnegie but he also formally advised
President Franklin Roosevelt.
In
1937, Hill's polished and most notorious manuscript Think and
Grow Rich went into print and has remained in print
throughout the years with over thirty million copies sold and with
that number still growing.
Most notably, some of Napoleon Hill's quotes are still used in
training seminars and goal-oriented training manuals as well as
throughout other courses of study both in and out of the
universities across the world. "A goal is a dream with a deadline"
is one of Napoleon Hill's famous quotes that many writers still use
fondly.
Other Napoleon Hill quotes include: "Your big opportunity may be
right where you are now," and "If you cannot do great things, do
small things in a great way." The inspirational quotes of Napoleon
Hill show that he was certainly a protégé of Andrew Carnegie but
also show that he was able to clearly motivate individuals to lead
extraordinary lives even when those people might otherwise consider
themselves ordinary if it wasn't for the writings of Napoleon Hill. Think and Grow Rich will always be responsible for motivating
numerous successes among average individuals thanks to the work of
Napoleon Hill.
|